New England editorial roundup

In the midst of all the heartache, it's appropriate to praise public officials who rose to the grim occasion and have been of special comfort to the people of Newtown in their sorrow.

Public servants such as Newtown First Selectwoman E. Patricia Llodra, President Barack Obama and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. They comforted a stricken community that was slowly coming to terms with the incalculable loss of 20 children and the six brave women who died trying to save them in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre last week.

As well, these public servants and others conveyed to the rest of the world the extraordinary pain felt by Connecticut in particularly touching and effective ways.

The popular Ms. Llodra spoke eloquently for her wounded community when she told the world that Newtown is "a strong and caring place. We will put our arms around those families and around each other. We will find a way to heal so that all our residents, young and old, will again find peace."

Mr. Obama was particularly effective in letting Newtown know it was not alone. The president wept for the nation, and in talking to the victims' families at length Sunday night, put the nation's arms around their shoulders.

Mr. Malloy was magnificent in his compassion. This is a public official one might think better suited to leading a response to a hurricane or bargaining hard on a budget or union contract. But in Newtown he took on the hardest task any human being can — telling waiting parents that their children would not be coming home— and then tried to lift spirits with two poetic and inspirational addresses.

The list is long of local and state officials who also did heroic work coming to the aid of, comforting and advocating for the survivors and the community — including the teachers, aides and other adults who endured the assault on the elementary school and the first responders to the shooting — or facing the cameras to tell the world what they knew about the horrific event.

State police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance deserves special mention. Because of the state's "one-source-of-information" philosophy, he in many ways has been Connecticut's face during the worldwide news media coverage of this terrible crime. He has come across as professional and competent, serving Connecticut well.

Public officials don't always meet our expectations. They did at Newtown.

Connecticut Post, Dec. 19, 2012

The horrific tragedy in Newtown on Friday has cast the eyes of the nation -- indeed the world -- on a community in overwhelming grief.

The deaths of 27 innocent people -- 20 of them little children, just 6 and 7 years old -- at the hand of a madman with guns has also cast a bright spotlight on the failure of this nation to take significant action to try to prevent such atrocities.

There have been more than 30 mass shootings in the United States since 12 students and a teacher were murdered at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999, including the slaughter of 32 people at Virginia Tech in 2007 and the assassination attempt on Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords that left her critically injured and six others, including a 9-year-old girl, dead.

And yet this nation has failed to act.

We can wait no longer.

It is well past time for a serious, thoughtful, non-partisan national conversation that leads to meaningful action.

That conversation needs to include a discussion about the sensible regulation of guns in this country.

We support the Second Amendment, which guarantees Americans the right to bear arms.

But we do not support the right of anyone besides the military and law enforcement officials to possess assault rifles, high-capacity magazine clips and other implements that provide the capability to kill many people quickly.

And we believe all Americans -- gun owners, non-gun owners, Republicans, Democrats, everyone -- should agree that such weaponry must be outlawed.

The conversation about guns must also focus on enforcement of existing laws, cracking down on the gun show loophole, ensuring background checks and maintaining an updated national data bank.

The national conversation must also address mental health issues.

Most of the gunmen -- some would say all -- in the mass shootings of the past 13 years have been deemed to suffer from some sort of mental illness or emotional disturbance.

As a nation, we need to more effectively recognize and assist those who struggle mentally or emotionally, and we need to eliminate the stigma attached to seeking professional help.

We need to spend more -- not less, as we have steadily been doing over the past decade -- for treatment of mental health problems and to increase access to such treatment.

Other issues must be part of the conversation, too -- parenting, bullying and the impact of rampant violence in various aspects of the American culture, including video games, movies and television.

President Barack Obama promised in Newtown Sunday night to take action to address the causes of these tragedies. We urge him to follow through on that commitment, as he began to do on Wednesday.

We also call on Connecticut's Washington delegation to help lead a healthy national conversation and successful enactment of legislation.

We also encourage local governmental, school, community and religious leaders to discuss and seek ways to help reduce the potential for another mass shooting.

The victims of Sandy Hook deserve nothing less.

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